Car Amplifier- please Help!!!

[rainy]

Whilst removing an old factory fitted (Camry 91) tape deck, I accidentally
let one of the wires (+ charge) touch the metal bit causing the old deck to
fry. As the old system was connected to an amplifier (model Range TX-2000
which has NO info whatsoever on the web) ... well anyway heres what
happended:

- I saw smoke coming from the old tape deck (obviously fried).

- When I installed the new CD player I took off the -ve charge on the main
battery to prevent any more damage.

- The new CD player worked fine but I had to wire it directly instead of via
the amplifier.

The problem with the amplifier ---> doesnt power up.

- Checked the external battery to amp fuse (didnt burn)...electricity can
still run through it.

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt power up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and amp and IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its burnt nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).


Any ideas??

Thanks

 

[Jim]

Well you have the short circuits covered, what about the open circuits ?
))))))

Cheers
Jim

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in message
news:4157daa5@news.alphalink.com.au...

Whilst removing an old factory fitted (Camry 91) tape deck, I accidentally
let one of the wires (+ charge) touch the metal bit causing the old deck
to
fry. As the old system was connected to an amplifier (model Range TX-2000
which has NO info whatsoever on the web) ... well anyway heres what
happended:

- I saw smoke coming from the old tape deck (obviously fried).

- When I installed the new CD player I took off the -ve charge on the main
battery to prevent any more damage.

- The new CD player worked fine but I had to wire it directly instead of
via
the amplifier.

The problem with the amplifier ---> doesnt power up.

- Checked the external battery to amp fuse (didnt burn)...electricity can
still run through it.

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt power up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its burnt nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).


Any ideas??

Thanks

 

[Dingo]

The first step in any book or manual is disconnect the battery, isn't it?

Go and get a professional to install the thing properly - it will cost you
less


"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in message
news:4157daa5@news.alphalink.com.au...

Whilst removing an old factory fitted (Camry 91) tape deck, I accidentally
let one of the wires (+ charge) touch the metal bit causing the old deck
to
fry. As the old system was connected to an amplifier (model Range TX-2000
which has NO info whatsoever on the web) ... well anyway heres what
happended:

- I saw smoke coming from the old tape deck (obviously fried).

- When I installed the new CD player I took off the -ve charge on the main
battery to prevent any more damage.

- The new CD player worked fine but I had to wire it directly instead of
via
the amplifier.

The problem with the amplifier ---> doesnt power up.

- Checked the external battery to amp fuse (didnt burn)...electricity can
still run through it.

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt power up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its burnt nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).


Any ideas??

Thanks

 

[Jim]

I guess my initial reply was a bit unfortunate. You sound like you haven't
had much experience with these. My son is the same, just try this wire here
and that one there...often with expensive results. He found out the hard way
about smoke, it doesn't always just come from the device. He managed to fry
some wiring behind the dash. Luckily he didn't end up with the car in flames
!! As someone says, you really need to get a pro or learn a bit more about
what you're trying to do.

Having said that, there's an easy way to initially check the amp. If the
lights are on and the speakers connected, try putting your finger on an
input terminal. You should hear some "humm" out of the speakers.

Please dont think I'm being mean again, but if you can't understand what
wires are what and go where , it may be FAR less expensive to seek
professional help.

Cheers
Jim

 

[Zebra]

I think there maybe at least 3 conditions:

- 1st your amplifier got another kind of fuse which doesn't look like the
traditional one -- a glass tube with metal cap at both ends, but something
looks like a resistor or so.
- 2nd most amplifier got a connection wire with your pre-amp, deck ...,
sometimes labelled remote and it is not reconnected.
- 3rd the amplifier does have some parts burnt during the short circuit.

Finally, good luck.


"Dingo" <nsjunkstuff@hotmail.com> ŚbślĽó
news:4157fcb5@duster.adelaide.on.net ¤¤źśźg...

The first step in any book or manual is disconnect the battery, isn't it?

Go and get a professional to install the thing properly - it will cost you
less


"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in message
news:4157daa5@news.alphalink.com.au...
Whilst removing an old factory fitted (Camry 91) tape deck, I
accidentally
let one of the wires (+ charge) touch the metal bit causing the old deck
to
fry. As the old system was connected to an amplifier (model Range
TX-2000
which has NO info whatsoever on the web) ... well anyway heres what
happended:

- I saw smoke coming from the old tape deck (obviously fried).

- When I installed the new CD player I took off the -ve charge on the
main
battery to prevent any more damage.

- The new CD player worked fine but I had to wire it directly instead of
via
the amplifier.

The problem with the amplifier ---> doesnt power up.

- Checked the external battery to amp fuse (didnt burn)...electricity
can
still run through it.

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible
fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt power
up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its burnt
nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).


Any ideas??

Thanks

 

[rainy]

"Jim" <jimshire1_nospam@nospam_iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:41580042_1@news.iprimus.com.au...

I guess my initial reply was a bit unfortunate. You sound like you haven't
had much experience with these. My son is the same, just try this wire
here
and that one there...often with expensive results. He found out the hard
way
about smoke, it doesn't always just come from the device. He managed to
fry
some wiring behind the dash. Luckily he didn't end up with the car in
flames
!! As someone says, you really need to get a pro or learn a bit more about
what you're trying to do.

I know the basics of electronics from year 12 physics. Its only that I
realised one of the speaker input wires were dangling touching the metal
bits of the car and before you know it, i saw smoke coming out.

Having said that, there's an easy way to initially check the amp. If the
lights are on and the speakers connected, try putting your finger on an
input terminal. You should hear some "humm" out of the speakers.

The power light is NOT on. I know the thing isnt powering up but I've
checked the circuit boards and there seems to be electricity going through
it. I know that the speakers arent on because I've touched the speaker
itself, usually if its on it vibrates.

Please dont think I'm being mean again, but if you can't understand what
wires are what and go where , it may be FAR less expensive to seek
professional help.

A professional requires $100 charge per hr, now this cant seriously be
cheaper than installing it myself. Dont get me wrong Im not claiming expert
status but as I said, I do know what not to do, it was an accident, I should
have used a harness which would have been much more safe.

Cheers
Jim

I've short listed the problems:

- Some other fuse is burnt but I cant find it, probably on the driver's side
fusebox.

- The fuse isnt a general fuse which is why Im having trouble finding it in
the fuse box.

 

[rainy]

Yeah by disconnecting the (-) charge.

The thing is if you are careful .. this is by:

1. not cutting any of the loose long wires whilst in the car.

2. use a harness.

I tried to be cheapish and not use harnesses, it backfired (not pun
intended) obviously!


"Dingo" <nsjunkstuff@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4157fcb5@duster.adelaide.on.net...

The first step in any book or manual is disconnect the battery, isn't it?

Go and get a professional to install the thing properly - it will cost you
less


"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in message
news:4157daa5@news.alphalink.com.au...
Whilst removing an old factory fitted (Camry 91) tape deck, I
accidentally
let one of the wires (+ charge) touch the metal bit causing the old deck
to
fry. As the old system was connected to an amplifier (model Range
TX-2000
which has NO info whatsoever on the web) ... well anyway heres what
happended:

- I saw smoke coming from the old tape deck (obviously fried).

- When I installed the new CD player I took off the -ve charge on the
main
battery to prevent any more damage.

- The new CD player worked fine but I had to wire it directly instead of
via
the amplifier.

The problem with the amplifier ---> doesnt power up.

- Checked the external battery to amp fuse (didnt burn)...electricity
can
still run through it.

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible
fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt power
up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its burnt
nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).


Any ideas??

Thanks

 

[Geoff C]

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in news:41581cc6$1@news.alphalink.com.au:

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible
fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt
power
up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and
amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its
burnt
nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).

Any ideas??

Since the amp in the boot needs to be turned off and on remotely from the
"head" unit (I assume this is the CD or deck) there will be a heavy power
supply, and probably a signal +12v supply which tells the amp to switch on.
This could be a relay drive.


Maybe you could check if such a signal exists and if it is working
properly. When I built my boot amp I designed it to work like this.

 

[rainy]

Hmm I've totally checked ALL fuses possible and neither are burnt, so I
suppose that rules out anything being burnt.

I'm seriously suspecting the Amplifier Remote wire now, in the installation
booklet it says its required if you wanted to use a power amp.

One thing I dont get, I use to own an LG CD-Player which I installed (but
gave it away as a pressie bc the sound totally sucked) and it didnt need any
Amplifier Remote wire to power up the amp. Neither did my factory
radio/cassette....I just dont understanD!!!




"Geoff C" <notinterestedin@spa.comm> wrote in message
news:iT06d.2885$pl.52419@nasal.pacific.net.au...

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in news:41581cc6$1@news.alphalink.com.au:

- Checked the inside of the amp (couldnt find any visible
fuses)...unless
they diont have any which is kinda strange.

- Electricity seems to be getting through to the amp but doesnt
power
up.

I find it strange that frying a head unit can cause damage to the
amplifier....I mean Ive checked the fuse between the battery and
amp and
IT
IS NOT BLOWN. The interior of the box also doesnt smell like its
burnt
nor
does the boot (amp is in da boot).

Any ideas??




Since the amp in the boot needs to be turned off and on remotely from the
"head" unit (I assume this is the CD or deck) there will be a heavy power
supply, and probably a signal +12v supply which tells the amp to switch
on.
This could be a relay drive.


Maybe you could check if such a signal exists and if it is working
properly. When I built my boot amp I designed it to work like this.

 

[Geoff C]

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in news:4158cfda@news.alphalink.com.au:

I'm seriously suspecting the Amplifier Remote wire now, in the
installation booklet it says its required if you wanted to use a power
amp.

One thing I dont get, I use to own an LG CD-Player which I installed
(but gave it away as a pressie bc the sound totally sucked) and it
didnt need any Amplifier Remote wire to power up the amp. Neither did
my factory radio/cassette....I just dont understanD!!!

Not quite sure what you mean about the remote wire on the amplifier being
needed if you want to use an amplifier ( a bit circular).

The remote wire is only needed on an amplifier when a master component
needs to turn the amp on, because the current draw from an amplifier is
very high and cannot be sourced directly from the component (or head unit
etc.) i'm sure differnet manufacturers have different approaches too and
some units on moderate power don't require or use remote switching. really
you should try and understand the manual, it is you best bet. Also, if you
are testing your amp without speakers connected and it seems to be doing
nothing, and if you work out a way to get the remote switching to work and
the amp comes on, don't be surprised if all seems OK and then the fuse
blows when the speakers are connected. This means the power stage is
faulty.

many auto devices don't have a fuse in them. Why should they? There should
always be one in the car system.

Without more technical details I can only give more generalisations since
I'm not familiar with specific models. Another thing, the speaker outputs
usually are not referenced to ground so neither output should be shorted to
ground intentionally or accidently.

 

[rainy]

Since the amp in the boot needs to be turned off and on remotely from the
"head" unit (I assume this is the CD or deck) there will be a heavy power
supply, and probably a signal +12v supply which tells the amp to switch on.
This could be a relay drive

This is what I intrepreted as a "amp remote" wire.

This is the first time Ive seen this wire as well, I suppose its on all new
CD HUs. The LG I had was easy to set up, all you needed to do was hook up
the two RCAs and voila, u get amp.

This new one (sony cdx-s2000) came in with a blue wire (which I didnt know
what to connect to) labelled as a "amp remote" wire. Supposedly in the
instalation guide it said this was required to be hooked up if an optional
amplifier was used.

Here is how my amp was set up to use with the factory deck/LG Cd player:

Ive run a (+) red wire direct from the battery to the back of the boot with
a fuse between that and the amplifier (+) wire.

The amplifier's (-) is screwed onto the metal body interior of the boot
(first of course) and there is just another 12+v wire which is used to power
the electric antenna *not used since my model doesnt have an automatic
antenna*.

With the old deck / LG Cd player, the amp was ALWAYS on even if the radio
wasnt on, because it was hard wired to the battery so every time ACC was on,
the amp was on. It wasnt attached to the HU at all.

One thing I noticed with this new Sony was the ERR 50 appearing, meaning
that the amplifier is not properly hooked up.

"Geoff C" <notinterestedin@spa.comm> wrote in message
news:ND56d.2892$pl.52853@nasal.pacific.net.au...

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in news:4158cfda@news.alphalink.com.au:


I'm seriously suspecting the Amplifier Remote wire now, in the
installation booklet it says its required if you wanted to use a power
amp.

One thing I dont get, I use to own an LG CD-Player which I installed
(but gave it away as a pressie bc the sound totally sucked) and it
didnt need any Amplifier Remote wire to power up the amp. Neither did
my factory radio/cassette....I just dont understanD!!!



Not quite sure what you mean about the remote wire on the amplifier being
needed if you want to use an amplifier ( a bit circular).

The remote wire is only needed on an amplifier when a master component
needs to turn the amp on, because the current draw from an amplifier is
very high and cannot be sourced directly from the component (or head unit
etc.) i'm sure differnet manufacturers have different approaches too and
some units on moderate power don't require or use remote switching. really
you should try and understand the manual, it is you best bet. Also, if you
are testing your amp without speakers connected and it seems to be doing
nothing, and if you work out a way to get the remote switching to work and
the amp comes on, don't be surprised if all seems OK and then the fuse
blows when the speakers are connected. This means the power stage is
faulty.

many auto devices don't have a fuse in them. Why should they? There should
always be one in the car system.

Without more technical details I can only give more generalisations since
I'm not familiar with specific models. Another thing, the speaker outputs
usually are not referenced to ground so neither output should be shorted
to
ground intentionally or accidently.

 

[Geoff C]

"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in news:41595c36@news.alphalink.com.au:

The amplifier's (-) is screwed onto the metal body interior of the
boot (first of course) and there is just another 12+v wire which is
used to power the electric antenna *not used since my model doesnt
have an automatic antenna*.

With the old deck / LG Cd player, the amp was ALWAYS on even if the
radio wasnt on, because it was hard wired to the battery so every time
ACC was on, the amp was on. It wasnt attached to the HU at all.

One thing I noticed with this new Sony was the ERR 50 appearing,
meaning that the amplifier is not properly hooked up.

All I can say is the blue wire you mentioned should be hooked up to the amp
remote connection as it will power the relay to power the amp. The other
system you mentioned is valid also, ie powering the amp from the ignition
switch. This is not always easy to get at and has lim ited current drive,
that is why the direct fuse-in-line-to-battery is the next alternative. i
suggest you find out what the error means or power the amp on a bench
outside the car with a regulated lab supply and work on it in more comfort.

 

[pussynuts]

If the speaker wires have touched earth and you seen smoke it sounds like
you have blown up the Audio Power Output Ic's in the head unit.
On some units the REM wire for the amp is controlled by the output IC's.
Get the head unit checked.
Cheers
Joe
"rainy" <rainy@blah.com> wrote in message
news:41581c55@news.alphalink.com.au...

"Jim" <jimshire1_nospam@nospam_iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:41580042_1@news.iprimus.com.au...
I guess my initial reply was a bit unfortunate. You sound like you
haven't
had much experience with these. My son is the same, just try this wire
here
and that one there...often with expensive results. He found out the hard
way
about smoke, it doesn't always just come from the device. He managed to
fry
some wiring behind the dash. Luckily he didn't end up with the car in
flames
!! As someone says, you really need to get a pro or learn a bit more
about
what you're trying to do.

I know the basics of electronics from year 12 physics. Its only that I
realised one of the speaker input wires were dangling touching the metal
bits of the car and before you know it, i saw smoke coming out.

Having said that, there's an easy way to initially check the amp. If the
lights are on and the speakers connected, try putting your finger on an
input terminal. You should hear some "humm" out of the speakers.

The power light is NOT on. I know the thing isnt powering up but I've
checked the circuit boards and there seems to be electricity going through
it. I know that the speakers arent on because I've touched the speaker
itself, usually if its on it vibrates.

Please dont think I'm being mean again, but if you can't understand what
wires are what and go where , it may be FAR less expensive to seek
professional help.

A professional requires $100 charge per hr, now this cant seriously be
cheaper than installing it myself. Dont get me wrong Im not claiming
expert
status but as I said, I do know what not to do, it was an accident, I
should
have used a harness which would have been much more safe.

Cheers
Jim


I've short listed the problems:

- Some other fuse is burnt but I cant find it, probably on the driver's
side
fusebox.

- The fuse isnt a general fuse which is why Im having trouble finding it
in
the fuse box.